Music Think Tank (primary) RSSMTThttp://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/2017-09-26T20:48:54ZSquarespaceThe Process Of Releasing Electronic Music In 6 Simple Stepshttp://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/the-process-of-releasing-electronic-music-in-6-simple-steps.htmlAlex Cowles2017-09-27T09:00:00Z2017-09-27T09:00:00ZFor anyone who hasn’t worked their way through my free course “Getting Started With Self Releasing Music” I’d like to simplify the process of going from having a few tracks made, right through to releasing your music and seeing it on iTunes, Spotify and everywhere else.

This process will be more suited to electronic musicians, although could feasibly apply to bands and solo artists too. This is going to be a very simplified process, but should help those who don’t know about it, understand things better.

The one thing to be aware of here is that this entire process will take at least a month, but more likely a little longer if you want to do it properly. Be prepared to need to support your music months and months down the line once it’s out, since if it does well you’ll not be able to shake it off so easily.

It’s far easier to decide you want to forget or delete a track if it’s not been released.

2: Mixdown & mastering

You’ll want to get your tracks sounding as good as they can out of the box (DAW). When you’re happy with how they sound on a multitude of systems, you can render off the premasters. These are likely to be uncompressed wav files and you’ll want to make sure they have about -6dB headroom (so the volume shouldn’t peak much higher than -6dB ish. This gives the mastering engineer room to play with things.

Mastering is the process where a trained engineer will tweak and polish the sound to make sure that it sounds good on all systems, and can involve various techniques. The general rule is that the less they have to do, the better. For those who are happy with their mixdowns, it’s almost a sense-check.

Expect to pay anywhere between £10 and £100 to get a track mastered. It will vary a great deal, so shop around.

3: Artwork and release info

Assuming you’re going to release your own stuff (here are a few reasons why you should and some more on that), and your aiming for digital-only to begin with, at the very least you’ll need artwork for your release. A square image at least 3000x3000px in size (I work to 4000x4000px now) is what’s normally required.

You’ll also want to have some sort of release-sheet, which details the tracks, some info about you or the release and some links for more information.

4: Scheduling & distribution

When you have your mastered tracks, artwork and release info to hand, you can schedule your release.

You will need to find what’s known as a distributor (or a digital aggregator to be more precise). This is a company or website which will take your tracks and information, and “distribute” them to stores and streaming platforms.

There are a multitude of digital distribution platforms out there, but just be wary of hidden charges and what stores are serviced. Most will serve iTunes and Amazon, but you’ll probably want Spotify, Apple Music and a few others, so again, shop around and find a company that works for you. It’s easy to sign up, but not so easy to get your music taken off these systems. I wrote about choosing the best distributor for you here.

When you’ve found one, you’ll be able to sign up, and upload your tracks and artwork then schedule your release for a date in the future.

Most platforms will try and recommend you schedule the release date for 4 weeks away minimum. This is designed to give them time to process the release as well as giving you time to put in some promotion work and PR.

5: Promotion, press & PR

You will probably want to save/convert to mp3 files from your mastered wav files to promote the release with. (don’t delete the wavs of course!) Often you’ll want to send pre-release tracks to blogs, journalists, reviewers, youtube channels etc. Make sure your tracks are ready for promotion here.

You’ll also want to start building a list of people to promote to. As you start to contact blogs and other influencers, you’ll build a group of contacts who may be interested in hearing more from you. Make sure to build your promotion list properly.

Basically the promotion and hype game involves generating as much interest in your release as possible and can be anything from asking bloggers to review your release, to trying to get your tracks featured or playlisted on Soundcloud or Youtube. It can mean paying for PR, which may result in some coverage, or it may be as simple as just mentioning it on your social channels if you have enough people interested.

The more you put in here, the more you’ll likely get out, but it’s not a simple process - it takes lots of hard work and perseverance and you may have to cover lots of bases.

I have been building a strong email list for my music productions, so that’s starting to be my biggest promotional asset, but there are many ways to skin a cat.

6: Release & the future

Your release date will be approaching and beyond your last-minute reminders, you’ll probably want to shout about the release once it’s available on stores.

You’ll also want to collect up the buy-links and keep them handy somewhere, as well as adding them to your sites, socials and posts about it.

Generally that about covers it - start to finish. There’s obviously lots more to the process and all the work is in the details, techniques, your promo efforts and much more.

This also doesn’t account for physical production and distribution of actual stock either, that usually adds on a few months to the process.

Ultimately though this should be a rough guide on what to expect when you want to release your own music. Costs can be kept fairly minimal and the things that will cost you are mastering, possibly artwork, distribution and then any promo costs (Facebook ads, PR email-blasts etc). That and your time.

If you want a more detailed explanation of each step, or want to dig into a specific part of the process more, I’ve put together a free course which covers a more detailed overview, as well as a premium course which goes into INSANE levels of detail about the process, as well as providing a bunch of resources at each stage, templates, documents, lists of mastering companies, distributors and loads, loads more.

]]>Music Maniac: The 4 Safest Concert Venues To Add To Your Bucket Listhttp://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/music-maniac-the-4-safest-concert-venues-to-add-to-your-buck.htmlEmma Sturgis2017-09-26T02:17:32Z2017-09-26T02:17:32ZIf you enjoy listening to music, then a concert is likely at the top of your list of favorite activities to do with your family or friends. Whether you attend a concert at a school or church or at a larger venue, such as an amphitheater, there are numerous types of musical events that are sure to make you smile. There are also a few venues that you should add to your bucket list because of their beauty and the security that is offered for those who attend events.

Gorge Amphitheater

This is a venue that opened in 1985. If you’re looking for a location that offers plenty of space to dance around while listening to music, then this would be somewhere you want to visit at least once. The amphitheater is nestled between rock formations of the Cascade Mountains. This provides astounding acoustics with sounds echoing so that there is little need for a lot of equipment on stage. Over 20,000 people can comfortably fit into the venue.

Red Rocks Amphitheater

Perhaps one of the most popular places to attend a musical event is at Red Rocks. If you ask anyone who has an mpa master of public administration or someone who has a degree in music, then you’ll probably hear about the magnificence of this venue. This is a naturally-occurring amphitheater with seating for about 10,000 people. Views are astonishing as the venue is about 6,400 feet above sea level.

Starlight Theater

This is a smaller venue than some, but it makes up for the space with the beauty of the area. There are many Broadway productions held here as well as classical concerts because of the beautiful scenery and the acoustics. It’s also one of the safer venues across the country with security features in place and security officers patrolling the area. There is comfortable seating for about 8,000.

Hollywood Bowl

You’re going to want to include this venue on your bucket list as it’s among the largest amphitheaters in the United States. There is a public park in the area and picnic space available. Many legends have performed here including Aretha Franklin and The Beatles. There is a shell design on top of the stage to enhance the acoustics of the venue.

When it comes to music, there’s nothing like listening to it at a concert venue. There are several across the country, but some offer more amenities than others and more in the way of natural beauty. Consider finding a few concerts each year so that you can take a road trip with your friends or family.

If I wanted to travel from Idaho to Canada and play music for a month, I could do so free of charge. If you live in Canada and want to cross the border to play in the United States, it’s much more complicated. Why is this? Well, the United States can be pretty hostile to foreign travelers, as most of us are aware. Additionally, navigating a new culture and place in a foreign country can be hard. In addition to your normal road trip preparations, there are a bunch of legal complications you need to account for. I want to talk about some of them here and hopefully your band won’t struggle as much while you try to play music and enjoy these troubled states.

Visa Requirements

Huffington Post Canada released an article about a year ago titled “The U.S. Border is Killing Canadian Bands,” and in it they revealed to the public that bands pay $2000-$5000 in border fees and union dues, or else they may be banned from the U.S. for up to half a decade. Obviously, this doesn’t just affect bands from Canada, but Mexico as well.

If you’re looking to tour the United States from out of the country, you will need an O-1 Visa, which is specifically for artists and entertainers. I recommend going through the checklist on Sky USA Law’s website for the O-1, and making sure you meet all necessary requirements. In short, be ready to explain who you are as an artist, what you’ve done, and what you’ll be doing. Their firm can also help you obtain the visa.

Cell Phone Usage

In 2017 we are all very accustomed to smartphone usage. While we might complain about the cost of data, using your phone out of the country is going to cost even more. So first things first, if you will be using your smartphone internationally, know how to reduce those costs. Adjust your phone’s settings and consider buying a sim card in your place of travel (it may be cheaper than your provider’s international plan). Monitoring your data usage for apps as well as your data roaming in general is a good idea.

Another option is getting a cheap band phone to use internationally that you all split the bill on. This is how a lot of bands used to operate before the days that everybody had a cell phone, but in this age it’s still a good tactic for saving money on cell phone charges.

If you’re really cheap, you can just reserve your phone for only places that have WiFi. But in this age that may be hard since so much of modern DIY touring revolves around contact with promoters via e-mail and social media. If you go this route, then I hope you brought a lot of books to read!

Get a GPS

Most of us use our smartphones when touring as means to a map. Now, any time you travel long distances you should take a physical map in case your digital devices decide to fail you. But let’s be realistic — maps are a pain to use in this day and age, and if you don’t have a smartphone or are working on an international plan, I’m not sure that using a physical map in another country is the most viable option. The convenience of digital maps will not escape us, so maybe it’s smart to get a GPS, or Global Positioning System for you nerds.

According to The Wirecutter, the budget-pick GPS in the United States is the TomTom Go 50 S, which is supposedly less than $100 on Amazon. However, for a little more they recommend the Garmin Drive 51 LMT-S, which “hits the sweet spot” between affordability and usability. So if you’re willing to spend a little more, it might be a better option.

Customs

Before you leave and you can still use the internet without being charged egregious amounts, look up the customs information for the United States and while you’re here make sure you have your passport with you wherever you go.

Travelling across borders with your own instruments is a pain but it can be done. There have been horror stories of course, as with travelling anywhere. Customs destroying instruments, expecting drugs and breaking equipment to see if you’re hiding them there — the kind of incidents you see on television shows.

It appears that to get across borders you need to have an inventory list of all of your instruments. Clearly mark them so it’s easy for the border control officials to count. In doing so, you’ll make the process of getting across much smoother.

Merchandise is a bit of a different story. If you’re making money in the United States, our government wants to know about it. They classify merchandise as either “Goods Valued at Less Than $2,500” and “Goods Valued at More than $2,500.” There is, of course, some information you’ll need to give the border patrol about your items, regardless of their worth, as well as some forms you will want to fill out to smooth the process. You will also need to ponder whether or not you should ship your merchandise across the border before going or take it with you — there are advantages to both. For more details on all of these things, visit internationalmusician.org’s resource on the subject.

So musicians from across our borders: what struggles have you had in touring the United States? I want to hear about them. Let me know on Twitter via @robolitious.

As a beginner drummer, one of the most exciting moments is finally buying your own drum set. After all, there is nothing like learning how to play drums with your own kit at home. But as drum sets tend to be quite an investment and space-consuming, buying one is not something you do without consideration and careful comparison of different models and brands.

The quality of your kit will directly affect how good your playing will be. This is the main reason why it is crucial to choose the best but most affordable one that is perfect for a beginner like you. The great thing about the drum set is that it can easily be upgraded piece by piece, so you can also slowly save up for upgrades and other parts.

Here are some tips for beginners who are about to buy their first own kit.

1. Prioritize Quality over Price

You might be able to find drums that are surprisingly cheaper than most of the beginner kits out there. Do not be tempted to buy a low-priced one as you can expect it to be of bad quality. If you want to save some money, you might consider shopping around for used but branded kits, however, you are not sure of the condition. So to be safe, consider shelling out a little bit more for the second or third cheapest model from known brands like Pearl, Yamaha, Tama, DW, Ludwig, or Mapex.

2. Buy With An Expert

Make sure that you also go to real music stores, instead of going to generic stores like Target or Wal-Mart. Not only will they have better instruments for sale, but the sellers will also know more about drums and be able to help you out. Just watch out for salespeople trying to make money off of you by making you buy unnecessary upgrades or parts. To avoid this, it is best to bring an experienced drummer to help identify what you need.

3. Choose a Full Set

Normally, beginner kits are standard 5-piece drum sets that include a bass drum, a snare drum, a floor tom and 2 hanging toms. Cymbals may also be included, consisting of hi-hats on a stand that has a foot pedal, and a crash/ride cymbal. You might expect the cymbals to be short-lived and low grade, though. When it comes to hardware, you have tom holders, cymbal stands, bass drum pedal, snare stands, and a throne. Some sets will even offer drumsticks and cover pads, but these can easily be purchased separately as well. The real beauty of buying a drum kit is that you can start with the very basic and collect all the necessities and slowly upgrade. But until then, you still have your complete set that you can already play with at home.

4. Try It Out

Do not bring home a drum set without even trying it out. As your first kit, it has to be something you are comfortable with, in addition to sounding really good. If you have just started learning and cannot play as much yet, you can always bring an experienced drummer with you to help test it.

5. Consider Getting A Few Extra Pieces

While your first drum set will have all the pieces necessary, they might not all be able to play like the kits of more advanced musicians. If you have already been learning how to play for a time, you might find that these kits limit your playing ability. So if you happen to have some extra budget, you should definitely consider buying extra pieces like decent cymbals. This way, as you learn and improve your skills, you can fully enjoy a better sound and playing experience.

Buying a drum set is not an impulse decision because of the hefty cost and the huge amount of space it requires at home. But if you are really serious and passionate about playing and love practicing for hours every day, then investing in one makes total sense. You will be able to save money by skipping renting a set and you will be able to play anytime you want (so long as you are not disturbing your neighbors). By following these tips, you can be sure to buy the best first personal drum kit.

Darren Perkins is a musician at Red Drum Music Studios and have been teaching drums and performing on Kit for over 40 years.

]]>How To Find Time For Music When You Have A Day Jobhttp://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/how-to-find-time-for-music-when-you-have-a-day-job.htmlBandzoogle2017-09-19T09:00:52Z2017-09-19T09:00:52ZThis post was written by Bree Nobleand originally appeared on the Bandzoogle Blog.

Whether you work full-time outside the house, in your home office or take care of young children or aging adults (which is definitely a full-time job), finding time for music can be a juggling act.

When I first started trying to build a music career, I worked full-time as a Director of Finance at an Opera Company. It was quite a demanding and stressful job, yet I managed to make time for band rehearsals, songwriting and recording my first demo.

When I started to build a name for myself as a solo recording and performing artist, I was a stay-at-home mom with a 2 year old. In some ways, it was more challenging than balancing music with a corporate job. You don’t get to “clock out” at the end of the day, and you definitely don’t get rewarded with any overtime pay!

Yet during this time, I was able to write and record an entire album, perform locally about 6 times per month, book several 2 week mini tours, record demos for other songwriters and take a songwriting class.

It definitely wasn’t easy…

But sometimes the raw power fueled by the passion we have for music can drive us to accomplish the super-human.

But passion alone isn’t enough. It takes battle-tested strategies and detailed planning to make sure music doesn’t get pushed to the back burner when our day job is demanding.

If the idea of “detailed planning” sounds intimidating…I get it. I used to feel overwhelmed by the idea of making a plan to get things done. But when I finally admitted to myself that the lack of a plan was what was standing between me and my dream of a music career, I put my fear and resistance aside.

I know you can too!

I am going to share a few ways you can find time to focus on music while working full-time on other things.

1. Determine When You Are Most Productive

Discover which time of day you are most inspired, focused and likely to feel motivated to work on music. For me, it is early morning, before the kids are up and the hustle and bustle of the day’s responsibilities threatens to distract me.

Maybe for you, it’s late at night when you’ve gotten your daily tasks done. Or the weekend when you can devote a larger block of time to music-related creativity or music marketing projects.

Oftentimes, we can squeeze in some short work sprints in the middle of the day - during a lunch hour or while the kids are napping. If you’ve had your coffee and are in “work mode” it might be your most productive time.

2. Your Lunch Hour - A Music Power Hour

Whether you shut the door to your office or go work in your car or at a local coffee shop, your lunch hour can be a golden opportunity to make some progress. After all, you’re already in work mode and hopefully “in the zone”, so why not extend that productivity to your music.

If you are home taking care of children or other adults, set your schedule so that they are occupied by a quiet activity or napping at this time so you can have at least an hour to devote to music.

What can you do with these short snippets or time?

Work on some lyrics you started writing. Starting from just a spark of inspiration,, you can get quite far on a set of lyrics in one hour. You can even use the internet at work for the thesaurus if you get stuck. If you keep your lyric ideas in Google drive, Dropbox, Evernote or your favorite cloud storage service, it will be very easy to pick right up where you left off no matter where and when you work on your lyrics.

Use the internet to research booking opportunities. Choose one method of research each day - newspaper calendar section, similar artist’s gig calendars, gigging websites - and focus on that specific kind of research for your lunch hour. That way, you have enough time to find some great connections without going down too many internet rabbit trails and wasting a lot more time (we’ve all wasted an entire afternoon this way haven’t we?). It’s useful to have a one hour time limit.

Make booking calls or follow up with venues you’ve already contacted by email. This might be the perfect time to catch them in their office or on email since it’s probably their lunch hour too.

Bring your instrument or track and practice in the car or in a remote part of the office. If you’re a vocalist, bring some tracks you can sing with or just use your iPod or phone to listen and review melodies and lyrics you need to memorize.

If you work in a city, try busking on your lunch hour. You might even make some new fans and a little cash while getting some practice time in.

3. Idle Time Can Be Learning Time

If your job involves a commute (car, subway. train or even plane), there’s no need to feel like that time is wasted. With tons of educational resources online like podcasts, audio books, courses, and physical books, you could be learning something new each day to advance your career or improve your music.

Subscribe to some podcasts about building a music career so your device will automatically download the episodes. That way you won’t have to use data or be in a wireless environment to learn and be inspired on the go. Some of my favorites are:

If you’re already enrolled in an online course, take a few minutes at the beginning of your week to download some new modules to your phone, or login to the members area so you can easily access the content when you need it. This extra few minutes of thinking ahead will save you time and frustration later.

4. Invest in Help

If you’re working full-time, your time to spend on music can be quite limited. For you, time may actually be a more precious and scarce resource than money.

I highly recommend you invest a small portion of your weekly paycheck into a virtual assistant or local student to help you do some of the music-related tasks that don’t necessarily have to be done by you.

Get your new assistant to help you with social media posts, updating your website, managing your email list, writing your newsletter, writing blog posts and more.

If your day job is taking care of kids or adults at home, save up for some babysitting time. When I recorded my Holiday album, I built babysitting money into the budget so I could hire a college student to watch my girls, then 8 and 2, twice per week for 4 hour sessions so I could get the recording done.

It was a really smart investment. Had I not done that, I most certainly wouldn’t have gotten the release out on time.

Summing It Up

If you are juggling the demands of a full-time job, try these productivity hacks:

Choose one hour each day when you’ll be most productive and block it off on your calendar. This could be before work, in the evening or during your lunch hour.

Use your lunch hour to write, practice, perform or work on booking research and follow-up..

Do the prep work so you can have easy access to lots of audio and written music training during your commute.

Set aside some of your hard-earned money to invest in an assistant so your lack of time doesn’t prevent you from making progress.

If your day job involves taking care of family members:

Set aside an hour either before they get up or after they go to bed to work on music.

In addition, you hopefully can find a time when they are napping or doing a quiet activity in the middle of the day so you can sneak some more work time in.

Listen to audio podcasts, audio books or audio from courses you’ve purchased while doing household chores or in the car running errands.

Set aside some babysitting money or build it into your project budgets.

With just a little planning, you won’t have to feel like work and life is crowding out your music career. You will be surprised how productive you can be if you deliberately carve out small segments of time for music.

It does take a little forethought, preparation and organization, but it will be well worth it. Having a day job might make the road longer, but it doesn’t have to completely deter you from reaching your music career goals.

You got this!

Bree Noble quit her corporate job as a Director of Finance to pursue music. After a successful run as a touring singer/songwriter, she founded Women of Substance Radio to promote quality female artists in all genres. She hosts the Female Entrepreneur Musician Podcast where she teaches music marketing strategies and interviews successful Indie female artists and industry pros. Drawing on her extensive experience, Bree has created online courses to help musicians learn to make a living from their music. For more, visit www.femusician.com

]]>Most Popular Music Genres: It Is Completely Different Than You Believehttp://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/most-popular-music-genres-it-is-completely-different-than-yo.htmlEmily Lopes2017-09-18T08:00:41Z2017-09-18T08:00:41ZMusic comes in many different forms and not all of them are equally popular. Maybe you are into a specific type of music and maybe you like 1 or 2 genres more, but the thing is, most people prefer just one genre. This can be useful to new musicians, due to the fact they can start their career in the music genre that is most popular. This would definitely make the things easier. You may believe that POP music is the #1 in the world, but it isn’t. Now you will see the most popular music genres in the world.

Heavy Metal

Once treated as outcasts, the musicians of this genre are today the number one when it comes to the music popularity. They have the most fans across the planet, but in the United States, this number is even higher. Heavy Metal started its life back in the 60s, as a sub-genre of rock. Some of the best-known names in this genre are Metallica and Iron Maiden. Fans of this type of music are completely into it and their lifestyle is even based on Heavy Metal.

Rock n’ Roll

Rock n’ Roll has been one of the most popular music genres since the day it was invented. Let’s just say that the first traces of this music come from the 50s, but the popularity was significantly increased during the 70s and 80s. ACDC, G N R and many others have made this genre the ultimate choice for most people. This music is commonly produced by a drummer, a singer, bass player and a guitar player.

Alternative music

This music genre has no description, nor it can be described actually, simply because it is based on art. We all know that art cannot be defined. Linkin Park, Evanescence and many others made this music extremely popular and extremely desirable. You will need drummer, vocals and a guitar and you are good to go. This is also the hardest music genre to dominate.

Hard Rock

This genre isn’t the same as heavy metal or just rock. It is completely different in a matter of fact and it has a lot to offer. Rush, Led Zeppelin and literally, dozens of other bands made this genre the ultimate one if you want to enjoy the music, but at the same time, you want to listen to the beautiful words, great bass and to dance like you have never before.

Classical

Classical music is still one of the most popular music genres ever. It is completely different than anything else and it is more than just beneficial to listen. Just relax in one of the best massage chairs, turn on the music and relax. First and foremost, this music is always produced by some of the biggest and the best musicians ever known. Mozart, Beethoven, and literally many others have shaped the classical music according to their beliefs. Now, we can simply enjoy that literally forever. And yes, this music is also known for increasing the IQ.

Rap

Rap has been the most popular type of music in ghettoes, and in groups where people wanted to express themselves in an interesting and original way. This music may be the only kind that can make you laugh and cry at the same time. Since the time it has been first noticed, till now, it has made a significant improvement. Some of the biggest names here are Eminem, Tupac, Nas, Big L and etc.

Jazz

How many of you listen to the jazz music? Probably all of you have listened to it at least a few times in your life. The reason why is very simple. This is a gentle, sensitive music that is rich in feelings and always makes you think about something or someone. All artists from this genre are very popular and there are high chances this is going to be similar to the classical music in the near future. Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, and many others have been responsible for some of the best songs ever. In addition, jazz originated from New Orleans and it has been made by slaves back in a day!

Electronic music

Commonly known as dance music, or electronic dance music (EDM), is one of those genres that has to be on every list. It has been among us since the 80s, but in the 90s it got very desirable. The place of origin is Europe, but since 2000 electronic music has been introduced in the United States. Nowadays, it is the most common choice for crazy parties and nightclubs where people simply want to relax and dance. Here, words and vocals are not present. On the other side, thebass is something that has an important part.

Pop

Pop music isn’t the most popular, as you can see, but the highest number of people talk about it every day. Artists are commonly present on the television, social media and etc., which brings us to believe it is the number one music genre across the planet. Yes, it definitely has a lot of listeners and fans, but pop music is good only as the popularity of artists. Here, names don’t stay at the top for a long period of time and new ones come frequently. Justin Bieber, Miles Cyrus are some of the best-known artists today, but let’s not forget Michael Jackson.

10. Hip hop

This is a music genre with the coolest name of them all. It is commonly related to rap and most people believe that it is just another name for rap, but it isn’t. This is an improved, bigger music genre that rap, and it can be used with rap or without it. It was introduced in New York back in the 70s and became very popular among Afro-Americans. Today, we have some of the biggest hits that come from this genre. Even better, this type of music can be paired with any other genre and it will still sound fantastic.

Many talented singers and music producers have come across a track, a sample, or some professionally recorded piece of music that they just know they need to use on their next song. Sometimes, a big part of the battle is figuring out where the sample originated from definitively, as many songs have been remixed, remastered, re-released, and even covered by multiple artists. If you have already mixed your next hit then full service song licensing has to be obtained before anything can be released to the public. Here are a few reminders as to why gaining the full rights to any music you have sampled or borrowed from to create a new song is absolutely necessary.

Remembering the Verve

Back in the late 1990s, an alternative rock band by the name of The Verve wrote a song that had international appeal and quickly found fame. Their song, ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ was a smash hit. While their record label and management team had taken efforts to get permission from both The Rolling Stones and the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, there was some kind of mix-up that left the band embroiled in a lengthy legal dispute. In the end, The Verve had to share songwriting credits with The Rolling Stones and the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, even though neither of the latter parties authored a single lyric. Very few revenues, if any, from ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’, ever ended up in the original band member’s pockets, and many believe this marred their chances of later success.

Even Justin Bieber Needs Song Licensing Clearance

Justin Bieber has the backing of major music studios, as well as highly acclaimed producers. Even so, it wasn’t that surprising when he was accused of using an unauthorized sample on his 2015 hit ‘Sorry.’ Although the artist accusing Bieber of sampling her song doesn’t have a team of lawyers to back her up, all it takes is one judge to render a multi-million dollar ruling in her favor. The long story short is that Bieber and his people should’ve gotten permission to sample any and all music that accompanied his tracks.

Robin Thicke Takes an Offensive Approach

In the mid-2000s, Robin Thicke was thought to be playing a hand in the recreation of modern R&B. Unfortunately for him, one of his most famous songs actually stole a riff from the late Marvin Gaye. Instead of doing what was right and asking for permission to sample the track from the estate of Marvin Gaye, Thicke decided that it would be a better move to bizarrely sue his predecessor for copyright infringement. While Thicke may have never had to pay a lot of money in copyright infringement settlement costs, his career has all but come to a screeching halt.

If you write a successful song but the music came from a title that you didn’t get permission to use, you’re probably going to be sued. You also need to protect your musical creations so that no one can borrow from you and then get away without fairly compensating you. This is probably one of the most critical lessons that all budding musical artists should take heed of in their careers.

]]>Moshpit Mashup: 4 Applicable Tips For Injuries Acquired At A Concerthttp://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/moshpit-mashup-4-applicable-tips-for-injuries-acquired-at-a.htmlRachelle Wilber2017-09-15T18:31:17Z2017-09-15T18:31:17ZWhether it’s a headline concert or a full blown festival, there’s nothing like a live concert to help you appreciate — and experience — your favorite bands. Unfortunately, concerts and festivals are also great places to get injured, whether it’s a mosh pit, an equipment malfunction, a grounds safety issue, or any of a long list of things that could go wrong. Of course if you’re attending a concert, it’s important to stay safe and protect yourself as much as possible from potential injuries. But if you do get hurt at a concert, here are a few tips you should keep in mind from a legal standpoint.

Immediately Make Note of the Incident

Concerts are often loud, crowded, and distracting, making it difficult to keep track of exactly what’s happening in the moment — let alone a few days after the event. In the event of an injury, it’s essential that you make note of exactly what or who injured you, including any information you can discern about the incident. If possible, write down the details immediately. Chances are you won’t have access to pen and paper at a concert, but you can use your phone and write down details like what, where, when, and who in a note app, a text to yourself, or simply by using a voice recorder. These details will be important later on.

Find the Venue Owner

If you’re seriously injured at a concert or festival and considering a personal injury lawsuit, you’ll need to be able to identify the defendants — the person or party you are suing. In most cases, a concert injury lawsuit will include the venue owner or company as a defendant. Some venues are privately owned, while others may be on government property. There are different rules for filing personal injury claims depending on whether the property is privately held or government owned, so you’ll need to be aware of which rules your lawsuit should follow.

Gather Evidence to Discuss with an Attorney

In any personal injury lawsuit, the outcome will depend largely on your ability to prove who was at fault for the injury. Concert venues will often have plenty of sources for potential evidence, including hundreds or thousands of potential witnesses, privately captured photos or footage, and any surveillance cameras used by the venue. Gather all the potential evidence you can, and then discuss your case with a personal injury attorney. Once you’ve presented the evidence and any notes you’ve taken regarding your injury, an experienced attorney will be able to gather additional evidence through legal means that you may not have had access to previously.

Calculate Your Potential Damages

In a personal injury case, the damages you may be awarded could be more than just your medical expenses. Personal injury lawsuits may also factor in damages from lost earnings, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and even loss of support or services to the people who depend on you. Your attorney can help you estimate the damages you may be entitled to receive through a concert injury lawsuit.

If your plans for a great day out at a music festival or concert have been derailed by an injury, there are steps you can take to help recover damages and regain your peace of mind — so you’ll be ready to rock by the next time your favorite band rolls into town.